Explicitly declaring a variable type in Python

Question

I use pyscripter for coding, it supports auto-completion. So, when I say:

a = []
a.

It gives me all the list functions. similarly with strings I do b=''.

But for the file type, I have to use file. and choose the function and write its arguments and then replace file with the variable name.

Is there a way to declare a variable type explicitly in Python, so that my IDE can be more useful?

Downcast

Writing bad Python code just to please an IDE doesn't sound like such a great idea to me... – Rabaul

once you've used a.your_attribute in your code, pyDev-eclipse will keep showing that attribute after pressing . in list with CTRL + SPACE, with its intelligence !!! – Quasijudicial

If you have to make your IDE absolutely useful, you will have to morph python into java .. including specifying the type explicitly. – Perjured

I'm currently switching from C#/Java to Python and the dynamic types seem to create a lot more problems than they solve. They just feel messy and a step backwards. – Agosto

Most decent Python IDEs automatically show possible methods on an object when you type obj. : Eclipse, spyder, Wing, Canopy... – Imogene

Possible duplicate of how to declare variable type, C style in python – Chinese

Answer 1

in case you want methods callable on a type ...you can always use dir(var) in python console...

Nolen

+1 I think that this is the right answer. Learn the methods available on it the hard way and quit your bellyaching. – Antipathetic

@Antipathetic How silly. "Work harder than you have to simply because languages like Python and Javascript make things more difficult than they have to be." – Radon

Answer 2

As of Python 3, you can explicitly declare variables by type:

x: int = 3

or:

def f(x: int):
    return x

Reset

Will a warning or Exception be raised if I assign a string to it after explicitly declaring as an int? – Callista

Answer 3

Python has no type declarations. Python 3 introduces something called function annotations, which Guido sometimes refers to as "the thing that isn't type declarations," because the most obvious use of it will be to provide type information as a hint.

As others have mentioned, various IDEs do a better or worse job at auto-completing.

Edge